October 24, 2018

SOUTH SIDE WEEKLY The South Side Weekly is an independent nonprofit newsprint magazine written for and about neighborhoods on the South Side of Chicago. We publish in-depth coverage of the arts and issues of public interest alongside oral histories, poetry, fiction, interviews, and artwork from local photographers and illustrators. The South Side Weekly is dedicated to supporting cultural and civic engagement on the South Side and to providing educational opportunities for developing journalists, writers, and artists.

Volume 6, Issue 5 Editor-in-Chief Adam Przybyl Managing Editors Emeline Posner, Sam Stecklow Senior Editors Julia Aizuss, Christian Belanger, Mari Cohen, Bridget Newsham, Olivia Stovicek Chief of Staff

Manisha AR

Politics Editor Education Editor Music Editor Stage & Screen Editor Visual Arts Editor Food & Land Editor

Ellen Mayer Rachel Kim Christopher Good Nicole Bond Rod Sawyer Emeline Posner

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Pat Sier Jason Schumer

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Cover illustration by Ellen Hao

IN CHICAGO

A week’s worth of developing stories, odd events, and signs of the times, culled from the desks, inboxes, and wandering eyes of the editors

The Politics of the Possible While Chance the Rapper and Kanye West made headlines with their support for Amara Enyia this past week, two lesser-known but still influential Chicagoans lent their lefty cred to Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle. 35th Ward Alderman Carlos Ramirez-Rosa and 39th District State Representative Will Guzzardi, who both represent parts of Logan Square, stood with Preckwinkle at the neighborhood’s Blue Line station and praised her for adopting a “bold progressive agenda.” Preempting the inevitable backlash from his progressive base, Rosa pointed out that Preckwinkle has agreed to a platform with some key progressive stances, including a fifteen dollar minimum wage, lifting the ban on rent control, and eliminating the Welcoming City carve outs which allow local law enforcement to collaborate with ICE. Still, this is a puzzling move for Rosa and Guzzardi. Until this point they had both seemed like genuine independents and progressive upstarts, not beholden to the old Democratic machinery. Now they’ve closed ranks behind Preckwinkle, who is about as machine as any candidate can be without having the last name Daley.

Maybe they’ve chosen the pragmatic path: choose a “viable” candidate and move her left. Still, it seems like they left some money on the table by lending their endorsement so soon. And besides, young progressives aren’t supposed to be pragmatic. They’re supposed to imagine beyond what the political establishment has to offer. Chance the Rapper summed this up nicely when he endorsed Enyia at his press conference last week: “Chicago politics is about people knowing what’s possible.” Guzzardi and Rosa could have led the charge to make new progressive leadership possible. Instead they’ve fallen prey to the old guard.

The Mortality Gap Last week, the Illinois Department of Public Health released a shocking report which analyzed, among other things, the deaths of over ninety-three women who died in 2015 within one year of pregnancy. While the report found thirty-six of those deaths were in fact pregnancy-related, the wider findings showed a disturbing racial disparity in pregnancy-related deaths: non-Hispanic Black women were six times as likely to die from pregnancy-related issues as white women. “Clearly [this report] begs for action,” Shannon Lightner, a public health official, told the Tribune. Indeed—especially considering many of the deaths were likely due to racial profiling and assumptions of drug use. The committee that compiled the report is working to release recommendations for doctors and patients alike, but for now all they can do is encourage women to see a doctor regularly, educate themselves, and hope for the best.

Big Charter Gears Up for a Fight With charter school booster Mayor Rahm Emanuel not running for reelection, and many regular Democrat alderman facing challengers from the left, the future of charter schools in Chicago could well be hanging in the air. In response to these threats, pro-charter forces are getting ready to jump into the municipal election cycle, Chalkbeat Chicago reported last week. The Illinois Network for Charter Schools (INCS) Action PAC plans to give “millions” of dollars to mayoral and aldermanic candidates, whom it declined to name. In municipal elections, especially ward-level aldermanic races, the money could greatly increase a candidate’s chances of winning (unless it backfires in a particularly public school-supportive ward). Though City Council has no direct oversight of CPS, these charter-funded aldermen could push the mayor and the mayoral-appointed Board of Education, to expand the footprint of charter schools in Chicago. Advocates say this would draw more students and resources away from the open enrollment neighborhood schools, which anchor their communities.

Though INCS Action claimed that it is looking for candidates “with different positions” on the issue, the group’s history, and the fraught future of charters, makes it difficult to believe they are as ambiguous on the issue as they say.

IN THIS ISSUE art and investigation

A disjointed tour of Shadi Habib Allah’s work at The Ren manisha ar........................................4 cook county judicial voting guide 2018

Judicial races have received increased scrutiny this year injustice watch staff......................5 south side halloween

sean mac..........................................17 cognitive dissidence

Williams, for his part, described the verdict as burdened by the “spectacle of history.” christian belanger........................18

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OCTOBER 24, 2018 ¬ SOUTH SIDE WEEKLY 3

VISUAL ARTS

Art and Investigation

Shadi Habib Allah’s exhibition at the Renaissance Society keeps you guessing

BY MANISHA AR

T

he installation “70 Days Behind Inventory” is a jigsaw puzzle of brown and beige vinyl tiles arranged on a raised wooden platform to represent the floor from a corner store in Miami’s Liberty City neighborhood. The floor is stained and the image of what appears to be a beverage can is printed on the tiles. A yellow bulb overhead creates a pool of light in the center of this piece by multidisciplinary artist Shadi Habib Allah. This 750-square-foot installation is part of an exhibit entitled “Put To Rights” at the University of Chicago’s Renaissance Society gallery (The Ren, colloquially).

All around the central installation, Habib Allah’s videos play on the walls—one of them is projected onto a large fabric that casts a shadow over the tiles and the audio plays through loudspeakers so viewers can hear the sounds from the film as they explore the other works in the show. The remaining two videos have headphones and provide a more centralized viewing environment.

Habib Allah, a New York City and Miami-based artist, blurs the line between investigative research and artistic expression.

The exhibition statement explains that “he homes in on economies of people, objects, images, tracing various ways of navigating through these networks or investigating their structures.” Curated by The Ren’s director Solveig Øvstebø, the exhibit operates more like a retrospective or archive of the artist’s work, rather than a show built from a central theme.

The darkness in the gallery evokes a movie theater setting, which is apt for his video work and themes of alternative economies and disenfranchised communities. The film “30kg shine” opens on a gooey blob slipping down flights of stairs and across cobbled alleys. I felt goosebumps watching the waxy mass stretch and contract to move through the streets.

The next scene shows a woman frantically knocking down a wall to break into a house 4 SOUTH SIDE WEEKLY

¬ OCTOBER 24, 2018

with objects that she claims used to be hers.

The film ends at a construction site where men are digging holes into what used to be graves. These snippets of plotlines seem to have no connection to each other; even the text at the end doesn’t clearly explain the relationship between the different elements in the video, leaving the viewer to come up with their own conclusion. Despite revisiting his work several times, I was just as spooked and baffled by his themes in the second visit as the first. It took finding a text from the Rodeo Gallery, where it first exhibited in 2015, to learn that this film deals with the ‘condition of ownership’—from myths to corpses.

There are two more films in the space: a video of mechanics assembling a fiberglass body around a video camera—the finished piece sits in front of the video screen on a pedestal—and a single-channel HD video titled “The King and the Jester.” All three of Habib Allah’s films share the same quality: disconnection. They all incorporate long reels of footage with multiple scenes, each bearing no obvious relationship to the scene before. With nearly an hour of combined footage, the films might function better if screened together at a theater or at a film festival.

To me, the second-most successful piece of the show was “Dropping the 10th Digit”: a series of eight duratrans prints (a form of transparency film) mounted in light boxes. One of them has “David 38.00” and “Davidwife 36.25” scribbled on a scrap of paper, resembling handwritten store receipts made by a cashier. In an interview with Art in America magazine, Habib Allah explains that the title came from the method the Florida welfare agency uses to inform beneficiaries when they are going to get their money; the date the deposit will be made available is found in the eighth and ninth digit of the ten-digit case number.

The most absorbing feature of Habib Allah’s work is the way he illustrates certain

aspects of his research and completely neglects others. For instance, the vinyl-tiled floor looks almost identical to one in the first film, yet the history and background of this piece more directly references the subject of “The King and the Jester.” Meanwhile, the photo prints are another extension of Habib Allah’s research into how stores in Liberty City sometimes trade food stamps for cash.

As if offering scattered pieces of a jigsaw puzzle, these prints shed light more directly on Habib Allah’s larger investigation into the way that government welfare affects marginalized and disenfranchised communities—like the ones in Liberty City.

“Put to Rights” is being presented in conjunction with an exhibit at University of California, Los Angeles’ Hammer Museum, taking a narrower lens focusing on Habib Allah’s work dealing with Liberty City. When viewed together, the works completely disregard the viewer’s lack of knowledge of how vast and expansive Habib’s Allah’s themes and methods of

researching tend to be. As curator Øvstebø explained in an email, “He never gives easy solutions for how to interpret his works.

They are very open-ended, which leads the viewer to personally consider the questions he presents.” “Put to Rights.” The Renaissance Society, 5811 S. Ellis Ave. Exhibit runs through November 4, with an artist walk-through and a related reading of Caryl Churchill’s play Far Away on October 27 at 2pm. Museum open Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday from 10am–5pm; Thursday from 10am–8pm; the weekend from noon–5pm; and is closed on Monday. Free.

(773) 702-8670. renaissancesociety.org Manisha AR is the Weekly’s chief of staff and a writer who graduated from the New Arts Journalism program at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. She is interested in film, video, performances and storytelling. When she isn't researching for a story, she spends time playing with her cat and drinking coffee.

COURTESY OF THE RENAISSANCRE SOCIETY

ELECTIONS

Cook County Judicial Voting Guide 2018

Make an informed decision about the Fifty Nine judges on your fall ballot

BY INJUSTICE WATCH STAFF

C

ook County voters will decide November 6 whether to retain fiftynine Circuit Court judges seeking new six-year terms. To keep their seats, retention judges must win more than sixty percent approval from voters.

In the past these races have been virtually automatic—the last time a judge lost retention in Cook County was 1990.

The judicial portion of the ballet has seen diminished participation even from those residents who show up to vote.

However, the races have received increased scrutiny this year. Judicial Accountability PAC, formed by progressive lawyers and activists, is campaigning to have Judge Matthew Coghlan, who has been a Cook County judge since 2000, voted off the bench. While the Cook County Democratic Party has historically endorsed all candidates for retention (including those who originally ran as Republicans), it declined to endorse Coghlan this year.

And nonprofit group Chicago Votes has been mobilizing to get young people excited about voting, including in judicial elections.

The Weekly is partnering with nonprofit news outlet Injustice Watch to present information about each of the fiftynine candidates.

The Injustice Watch guide makes no recommendations; instead, it offers voters information based on extensive reporting of public records. Twelve bar associations— three general-interest associations, and several others representing different ethnicities and heritages—offer their own recommendations based on interviews of the judges and lawyers who appear before them, as well as follow-up research, but not a detailed public records search. Injustice Watch reviewed lawsuits, judges’ statements of economic interest, reversal rates, the sentencing practices of criminal division

judges, disciplinary records, newsworthy cases, and the recommendations of local bar associations. The review also included courtroom observation in criminal court and, in some cases, interviews.

This year, as is typical, the bar associations voted to support nearly all retention candidates. No judge received negative ratings from more than one of the three associations.

Our guide uses abbreviations in referring to the three general interest bar associations: Chicago Bar Association (CBA), the Chicago Council of Lawyers (CCL), and the Illinois State Bar Association (ISBA).

Judges are listed in ballot order.

find her “unduly harsh, overbearing, and sometimes disrespectfully aggressive with litigants, with deadlines too often set without any input from litigants.” In response to the CCL’s rating, Flanagan pointed out that other bar associations have always found her qualified. She said she is strict with lawyers who do not get things done on time because it is “bad for the system,” but said she rarely raises her voice and is exceptionally cordial with the litigants who do not have lawyers.

She noted that in her thirty-year career, she has not had any complaints about her “fairness," "sensitivity to diversity and bias,” “integrity," “experience,” or “knowledge of the law.”

For a searchable version of the guide, visit bit.ly/JudicialGuide. The online version also includes information about the handful of contested suburban races for new seats on the bench.

Past: Throughout Flanagan’s career, bar groups have praised her legal ability and ability to efficiently run one of the most difficult court calls. However, since 1994, bar groups have pointed out significant unchanging issues with her judicial temperament over, as many lawyers reported that she was “rude,” “inflexible,” “discourteous,” “hostile,” or “imperious,” according to the CCL. The CCL has rated her negatively since 2006 due to negative reports on her temperament. In 2012 the ISBA and CBA found her qualified.

Kathy M. Flanagan: Law Division Negative Ratings

Judge since: 1998 Prior to being elected to the bench, Flanagan worked in private practice. She began her career on the bench working in the Domestic Relations Division as a trial judge and a preliminary motion judge. She has been supervising judge of the motion section of the Law Division since August 2011.

Bar Association ratings: This year: The CBA rated her qualified, and the ISBA recommended her for retention.

The CCL rated her as “not qualified,” saying that some well-respected practitioners

Moshe Jacobius: Chancery Division, presiding judge Judge since: 1991 Appointed to the bench in 1991, Jacobius was elected to a full term in 1994 and has served as the presiding judge of the Chancery Division since 2010. Jacobius previously sat in the Domestic Relations Division,

where he also spent nine years as presiding judge. Before becoming a judge, Jacobius spent sixteen years at the Illinois Attorney General’s Office. He serves as the co-chair for the Special Supreme Court Committee on Child Custody Issues and is a member of the Supreme Court Committee to Study Courtroom and Judicial Security.

Bar Association ratings This year: The CCL rated Jacobius well qualified, citing his knowledge, timeliness, and temperament. The CBA rated him qualified and the ISBA recommended him for retention.

Past: In 2012, Jacobius was rated positively by all three major bar associations.

Stuart F. Lubin: Juvenile Justice Division Former Public Defender Notable Reversals

Judge since: 1991 Prior to becoming a circuit judge, Lubin worked as an assistant public defender for seventeen years. On the bench, Lubin has heard delinquency matters in the Juvenile Justice Division since 1991, shortly after he was first appointed to be judge. He was later elected to a full term in 1994. In 2001, Lubin won an award for Exemplary Dedication in Juvenile Justice Initiatives Dealing with At-Risk Youths from the National Gang Crime Research Center.

Bar Association ratings: This year: The CCL rated Lubin well qualified, citing his legal ability, temperament, and fairness. The CBA rated him qualified and OCTOBER 24, 2018 ¬ SOUTH SIDE WEEKLY 5

ELECTIONS

the ISBA recommended him for retention.

up until 2012, but in the past six-year term, a series of Lubin’s decisions have been overturned or reversed in part, with some of these cases also being remanded. In a few recent cases, the appellate court found Lubin erred by finding juveniles delinquent of multiple crimes for the same act.

Martin S. Agran: Third Municipal District (Rolling Meadows Courthouse)

Notable: Lubin presided over a high-profile case in 1994 of a ten-year-old who beat and stabbed his elderly neighbor to death, reportedly over the racial slurs she used toward him. Lubin sentenced the boy to

five years of probation with the Department of Children and Family Services, which placed him with a relative. The decision was met with outrage, but the Tribune editorial board defended Lubin for complying with the existing law which prevented him from either incarcerating the child or placing him in a facility without finding he had a psychological disorder. Lubin’s decisions were rarely reversed by the appellate court

JUDICIAL GUIDE GLOSSARY

contact orders, and certain criminal cases related to domestic violence.

Second through Sixth Municipal Districts: These suburban districts handle the types of cases heard by the First District, but also oversee felony criminal cases and juvenile justice cases, law division tort cases, orders of protection, no contact orders, specialty courts for veterans, specialty courts for mental health and drug treatment (depending on the district), civil suits with damages under $100,000, and name changes.

judges and must be approved by the Supreme Court to hear felony cases, but otherwise have the same responsibilities. Circuit judges vote on whether to retain associate judges every four years.

Past: Lubin was rated positively by the CCL, CBA, and ISBA in 2012.

Divisions Chancery Division: The term “chancery” describes lawsuits in which the plaintiff seeks to have the defendant perform or refrain from performing a specific action, rather than suing for monetary damages.

This division hears injunctions, classactions, mortgage foreclosures, declaratory judgments, contract matters, creditors’ rights, and more.

Child Protection Division of the Juvenile Court: Judges hear cases involving child abuse, child neglect, child dependency, private guardianship, termination of parental rights, and orders of protection related to child protection proceedings.

County Division: Judges hear cases involving adoption, elections, mental health proceedings, real estate taxes, municipal proceedings, and annexation of land to a tax body.

Criminal Division: Judges in the criminal division hear felony cases (cases that could result in a prison term of a year or more). The division also handles issues related to felony trials like record expungement and petitions for post-conviction relief. Criminal judges hearing Chicago cases sit at the Leighton Criminal Courthouse in Little Village.

Others also hear felonies in the suburban courthouses.

Domestic Relations Division: Judges hear cases involving divorce (and related matters like legal separation or dissolving a civil union), allocation of parental responsibilities and parenting time, child support, thirdparty visitation, and parentage matters.

Domestic Violence Division: Judges hear matters involving order of protections, no 6 SOUTH SIDE WEEKLY

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Elder Law and Miscellaneous: This division includes certain matters involving individuals aged sixty and older, including issues such as elder abuse, domestic violence, and some criminal cases.

Juvenile Justice Division: Judges conduct trials for minors charged with violations of laws or ordinances, and proceedings for minors addicted to alcohol or drugs and for runaways.

Law Division: The law division hears lawsuits for monetary damages larger than $30,000 in the city and larger than $100,000 in the suburbs. Examples include personal injury, legal malpractice, property damage, employment security, and much more.

Pretrial Division: This division includes initial proceedings in criminal cases, such as bail hearings, preliminary hearings, and applications for search warrants. This division also oversees cases referred to deferred prosecution programs. This division was created in 2017 when Chief Judge Timothy C. Evans issued an order reforming the county’s monetary bail system.

Probate Division: Judges hear matters involving wills, estates, and guardianship of minors or those with disabilities.

Municipal Departments First Municipal District: This district covers the City of Chicago and handles felony preliminary hearings, misdemeanor cases (except domestic violence), housing, evictions, small claims, licenses, traffic, lawsuits with damages under $30,000, marriages, and civil unions. Hearings take place at the Daley Center in the Loop and at additional sites known as “branch courts” around the city.

Bar Associations Chicago Bar Association: Founded in 1874, the 20,000-member CBA is one of the oldest city bar associations in the country.

The CBA’s goals, according to its website, include supporting its members, especially by providing continuing legal education, and working to “increase the usefulness of the legal profession.”

Illinois State Bar Association: The ISBA has 28,000 members. It was founded in 1877.

According to its website, the ISBA’s “primary focus is to assist Illinois lawyers in the practice of law and to promote improvements in the administration of justice.”

Chicago Council of Lawyers: This reformminded bar association advocates for the public interest and works closely with the Chicago Appleseed Fund for Justice. It was founded in 1969.

Other Terms Administrative law judge: Lawyers hired to conduct hearings on municipal code violations. May also be called “hearing officers.”

Associate Judge: A judge elected by the circuit judges. Candidates send in applications, and finalists are chosen by a committee of the chief judge and presiding judges. Circuit judges then vote amongst the finalists. Associate judges make slightly less money than circuit

Former Prosecutor

Judge since: 1994 Prior to becoming a judge, Agran was an assistant Cook County state’s attorney for six years and then a longtime private practice attorney. He served on a Federal

Circuit Judge: A judge elected by the public. Cook County judicial elections take place every two years. Judges must run for retention every six years Office of the Cook County Public Defender: The office that represents criminal defendants who cannot afford an attorney. Attorneys in the office are known as assistant public defenders. The head of the office—known as the Cook County Public Defender, currently Amy Campanelli—is appointed by the Cook County Board.

Office of the Cook County State's Attorney: The office that prosecutes state crimes in the county, and also represents Cook County in lawsuits against it.

Attorneys in the office are known as assistant state’s attorneys. The head of the office—known as the Cook County State’s Attorney, currently Kim Foxx—is elected by the public.

Chief Judge: The chief judge is elected by the circuit court judges and is responsible for assigning all of the court’s judges and for overseeing administrative matters. The chief judge can issue orders for judges to follow— such as the new bail reform rules—and create new divisions and programs. Currently, the chief judge is Timothy C. Evans.

Presiding Judge: The Chief Judge of Cook County appoints a presiding judge to oversee each division and each municipal department. Presiding judges handle administrative matters in their divisions.

In some divisions, presiding judges are responsible to assigning cases to judges (in other divisions, cases are assigned randomly by a computer).

ELECTIONS

Defender Panel as a private attorney who took assignments to represent federal defendants. He was appointed to be judge in 1994 and won election later that year.

He has had previous judicial assignments in the Child Protection Division and in the Juvenile Justice Division, including as a supervisor.

Bar Association ratings: This year: The CCL rated Agran well qualified, noting his temperament, courtroom management skills, and fairness.

The CBA rated him qualified and the ISBA recommended him for retention.

Past: Agran received positive ratings from all three bar groups in 2012, including “well qualified” from the CCL. Notable: Agran has ruled in a number of high-profile cases. He ruled in 2007 against former Governor George Ryan, who sought to receive his pension after being convicted of corruption. The Illinois Supreme Court upheld Agran’s denial of Ryan’s pension.

Agran also overturned former Cook County Sheriff Michael Sheahan’s pick for jail director after Sheahan did not follow proper protocol. Agran allowed for a civil rights lawsuit over the Illinois school funding system to proceed, finding there was sufficient evidence of discrimination.

E. Kenneth Wright, Jr.: First Municipal District (Daley Center), presiding judge Judge since: 1994 E. Kenneth Wright, Jr. was appointed to the bench and later elected in 1994, and has served in many of the sections of the First Municipal District, including the civil section, the felony preliminary hearings section, and the traffic section. Wright was first appointed presiding judge of the First Municipal District, the largest of the court’s districts, in 2003. Prior to becoming a judge, Wright was a solo practitioner in the private sector, specializing in criminal, divorce, and probate real estate matters. Wright holds both a law degree and a PhD in education.

Bar Association ratings: This year: The CCL rated him well-qualified, citing his “compassionate and professional demeanor.” The CBA rated him qualified and the ISBA recommended him for retention.

Bar Association ratings: This year: The CCL and CBA rated him qualified, and the ISBA recommended him for retention.

Past: Bartkowicz was found qualified by the CBA, CCL, and ISBA in 2012.

Past: Haberkorn was recommended to be retained in 2012 by the CBA, CCL, and ISBA. Notable: Haberkorn has been willing to call out police misconduct in cases that come before her. In 2014, she suppressed the drugs seized by officers from Glenview and Chicago when dashboard footage contradicted their version of the police stop. Haberkorn ruled the testimony “outrageous conduct.” And in 2016 she overturned a guilty verdict when new evidence contradicted police testimony from the original 2006 trial about whether a video recorder was operating and would have captured the scene. The judge said then she was “sickened” by the “miscarriage of justice.” Haberkorn is the second most lenient sentencer among twenty-four Criminal Division judges who have handed down more than 1,000 sentences in the past six years, according to Injustice Watch’s analysis of sentencing data.

Past: Wright was rated qualified to stay on the bench in 2012 by the CCL, CBA, and ISBA. Notable: As presiding judge of the county’s largest district, Wright is credited with various efforts to make the courts accessible to unrepresented residents, including increasing a pool of pro bono attorneys and providing court sessions before and after normal work hours.

Ronald F. Bartkowicz: Law Division Judge since: 1985 Bartkowicz previously worked as an attorney for the Chicago Transit Authority before becoming a judge. He was appointed as an associate judge in 1985, and then appointed as a circuit court judge in 1997. Bartkowicz was elected to the circuit court in 2000 and is currently working as an individual general calendar judge.

said “she is reported to be fair and patient on the bench.”

Catherine Marie Haberkorn: Criminal Division, Second Municipal District (Skokie Courthouse) Lenient Sentencer Former Prosecutor

Judge since: 1994 Haberkorn has heard felony cases in the Skokie courthouse since May 1999.

She previously presided over juvenile delinquency cases and narcotics cases. Prior to becoming a judge, she was a Cook County assistant state’s attorney.

Bar Association ratings: This year: Both the CCL and CBA rated Haberkorn as qualified, and the ISBA recommended her for retention. The CBA

Jason M. Varga: Law Division Negative Ratings Former Prosecutor

Judge since: 1994 Varga has presided over civil jury trials since 2002. Prior to that, he heard complex litigation cases and briefly served in the First Municipal District. Varga began his career as an assistant state’s attorney. He then spent about ten years in private practice before returning to the State’s Attorney’s Office as supervisor of the medical litigation division, which defends Cook County hospitals and medical staff in personal injury cases.

Bar Association ratings: This year: The CCL and CBA rated him qualified. Varga was one of three judges the ISBA did not recommend. They praised his legal knowledge and fairness but noted that "concerns about temperament...have been an ongoing issue."

Past: Varga was rated qualified for retention by the CBA, the CCL, and the ISBA in 2012. Despite praising him as diligent and knowledgeable, all three bar associations also noted concerns about Varga’s demeanor and unpredictable temperament. The CCL

wrote, “It is of particular concern that Judge Varga does not limit his outbursts when witnesses and jurors are present.”

In both CBA and CCL’s reports, Varga responded that he was working to improve his temperament.

Notable: During his time as an assistant state’s attorney in Cook County, Varga was a member of the team that prosecuted serial killer John Wayne Gacy. In 2005, Varga, along with two other judges, missed the deadline to file the necessary paperwork for the 2006 retention election. The judges successfully challenged the law setting the deadline before the Illinois Supreme Court, noting that it was in conflict with a later deadline set in the state constitution.

Marcia Maras: Law Division Judge since: 1999 Maras served briefly as an assistant state’s attorney before going into private practice.

Beginning in 1991, she began working in the Office of the Cook County Assessor.

She was the first woman in Cook County to hold the position of chief deputy assessor in 1994, and later became special counsel in the office.

Bar Association ratings: This year: The CCL rated her well qualified, noting she is knowledgeable, well-prepared, and has a good temperament. The CBA rated her qualified and the ISBA recommended her for retention.

Past: In 2012, Judge Maras was found qualified by the CBA, the CCL, and the ISBA.

Peter Flynn: Chancery Division Notable Reversals

Judge since: 1999 Flynn was appointed to be judge in 1999 and elected in 2000. Flynn worked in private practice in Chicago prior to his judicial appointment and practiced civil litigation for thirty years. As a judge, he has also overseen traffic cases and commercial and civil matters, but has been in the Chancery OCTOBER 24, 2018 ¬ SOUTH SIDE WEEKLY 7

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ELECTIONS

Division since 2002.

Bar Association ratings: This year: The CCL rated Flynn well qualified, saying he has good temperament, is thoughtful, and is well prepared. The CBA rated him qualified, and the ISBA recommended him for retention.

Past: Flynn was found qualified for retention by all three major bar groups in 2012.

Notable: In a series of cases, Flynn has been reversed by the Illinois Appellate Court for his rulings favoring police officers in everything from disputes over benefits to a lawsuit trying to keep police’s past disciplinary complaints from public view. In 2016 the appeals court reversed his decision temporarily blocking the City of Chicago from releasing nearly four decades of civilian complaints. In 2015, the appeals court reversed his decision blocking the City of Chicago Police Board from firing an officer who had fired his service weapon in his backyard while off-duty and apparently intoxicated. Although Flynn was voted into office in the 3rd judicial subcircuit, he moved out to a different subcircuit to live in a northern suburb.

is also a Cook County Circuit Court judge in the Daley Center.

Maura Slattery Boyle: Criminal Division Negative Ratings Notable Reversals Harsh Sentencer Former Prosecutor

Judge since: 2000 Before her election to the bench, Slattery Boyle worked six years as an assistant Cook County state’s attorney and also worked for the City of Chicago Law Department. In 2000, she ran for judge unopposed with the public endorsement of John Daley, a Cook County commissioner and brother of former Mayor Richard M. Daley. She was assigned to the First Municipal District before being transferred to the Criminal Division.

Bar Association ratings: This year: The CCL rated Slattery Boyle “not qualified,” citing her tendency for harsh sentencing and reversals. The CBA rated her qualified and the ISBA recommended her for retention.

Paul A. Karkula: County Division

Past: In 2012, she was found qualified by ISBA, CBA, and CCL.

Judge since: 1999 Karkula’s previous experience includes work as an assistant public defender and as counsel for the town of Cicero in 1998. He was in private practice immediately before being appointed to the bench in 1999. He was then elected to a full term in 2000. Before being assigned to the County Division, Karkula was assigned to the traffic court at the Daley Center and also heard cases in the Chancery Division. He currently hears taxrelated matters, change-of-name petitions, and mental health trials.

Notable: The Illinois Appellate Court has overturned thirty-five decisions of Slattery Boyle in the past six years, Injustice Watch reporting found. In three cases, defendants won exonerations after the appellate court reversed Slattery Boyle decisions that they did not even deserve post-conviction hearings, and ordered their cases reassigned to new judges. The Injustice Watch analysis of criminal court judges found Slattery Boyle is the most harsh in sentencing of any of the twenty-four judges assigned to the Criminal Division who have presided over 1,000 or more cases in the past six years.

Former Public Defender

Bar Association ratings: This year: The CCL and CBA rated Karkula as qualified, and the ISBA recommended him for retention.

Past: In 2012, the CBA, CCL, and ISBA found Karkula qualified.

Notable: Karkula’s wife, Elizabeth Karkula,

Mary Margaret Brosnahan: Criminal Division Former Prosecutor

Judge since: 2000 Brosnahan is currently a supervising judge

in the Criminal Division. She previously worked as a career prosecutor in the Cook County State’s Attorney Office and became supervisor of the felony trial division in 1997.

She was elected judge in 2000. Brosnahan has worked in the Criminal Division since 2005, but had previous assignments in the First Municipal District.

Bar Association ratings: This year: The CCL and CBA rated her qualified and the ISBA recommended her for retention.

Past: In 2012, Brosnahan was found qualified by the CBA, CCL, and ISBA. Notable: Brosnahan was initially assigned to preside over the case of three police officers accused of covering up the November 2014 Chicago police shooting of Laquan McDonald. She recused herself from the case with no explanation, possibly because her husband Kriston Kato was sent to the scene of the shooting as a police union representative, according to the Tribune.

At least fifty men have accused Kato of physically coercing them into confessions, according to lawsuits and department complaints reviewed by the Washington Post. Three years ago Brosnahan declined to resentence David Biro on one of three life sentences he received as a juvenile offender for the 1990s slaying of a Winnetka couple and their unborn child. Among Criminal Division judges who have heard more than 1,000 cases in the past six years, Brosnahan ranks in the middle on sentencing severity.

Matthew E. Coghlan: Criminal Division Negative Ratings Past Controversy Notable Reversals Harsh Sentencer Former Prosecutor

Judge since: 2000 Coghlan served as a assistant state’s attorney for thirteen years before his election to the bench. For three of those years, he also worked as a firefighter. As a judge, Coghlan has previously presided over felony preliminary hearings, bond court, traffic matters, and domestic violence matters.

Bar Association ratings:

This year: The CCL rated Coghlan not qualified, saying that while some lawyers find Coghlan fair, “other lawyers, particularly those who are non-white, believe that he can be condescending and otherwise disrespectful toward non-white lawyers and defendants in his courtroom.” The CBA rated Coghlan as qualified and the ISBA recommended him for retention.

Past: Coghlan was rated positively by the CBA, CCL, and ISBA in 2012.

Notable: Coghlan has had family on the bench: his cousin, Mary Ellen Coghlan, has been a Cook County judge since 1995 and is now the presiding judge of the Probate Division. An uncle, Martin D. Coghlan, was first appointed to a vacancy on the circuit court in 2007, but lost his election the following year. An Injustice Watch review identified several issues in Coghlan’s past.

He is currently being sued by two men who say he worked with disgraced Chicago police detective Reynaldo Guevara to frame them for murder; the two spent twenty-three years in prison before being exonerated.

(Coghlan denies the accusations in court filings.) Last year, an Illinois Appellate Court panel took a case away from Coghlan and assigned the case to a new judge after Coghlan denied the post-conviction petition of a prisoner who contended he was wrongly convicted for the second time, even after the Appellate Court ruled the petition should move forward. Coghlan’s retention is being opposed by progressive community groups, and in September, the Cook County Democratic Party took the rare step of voting not to support his retention. Injustice Watch’s review found Coghlan is among the harshest judges for sentencing among the twenty-four Criminal Division judges who presided over 1,000 or more cases in the past six years.

Joyce Marie Murphy Gorman: Sixth Municipal District (Markham Courthouse) Judge since: 2000 Prior to her election to the bench, Murphy Gorman worked in legal research in the office of the presiding judge of the Sixth Municipal District, and as a sole practitioner specializing in real estate, family, and criminal OCTOBER 24, 2018 ¬ SOUTH SIDE WEEKLY 9

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law. She was elected to the bench just five years after being admitted as an attorney to the Illinois Bar. In 2016, she won the Northwestern University School of Law’s award for “Dedication and Commitment to Courthouse Mediation Program.”

division. After her election, she first oversaw abuse cases in the Child Protection Division for seven years. She is currently the supervising judge of the felony courts in Bridgeview, where she started the Veterans Court and Drug Treatment Court.

Bar Association ratings: This year: The CCL and CBA rated her qualified and the ISBA recommended her for retention.

Bar Association ratings: This year: The CCL and CBA rated her qualified and the ISBA recommended her for retention.

Past: In 2000, Murphy Gorman was rated negatively by both the CCL and the CBA for not participating in the screening process. Murphy Gorman had only been practicing for five years at the time, less than the minimum required by bar associations that have formed an evaluation alliance.

While other bar groups have since found her qualified, the CCL continued to rate Murphy Gorman negatively, citing concerns in 2006 about her “grasp of evidentiary and procedural rules” and her temperament. In 2012, the CCL wrote that “she lets lawyers get under her skin.”

Past: In 2012, the CCL rated her positively but also reported that some lawyers found O’Brien to be “overly harsh in her sentencing and more accommodating to prosecutors’ motions than defense motions.” The ISBA and CBA both rated her positively that year, praising her temperament.

Notable: When Gorman first was elected, her husband, Robert Gorman, worked as the top assistant to a member of the Cook County Board of Tax Review; another member of that three-member board was Joseph Berrios, then a Democratic Party ward committeeman and now the outgoing Cook County Assessor and Cook County Democratic Party chairman. Robert Gorman has regularly donated to Berrios’s campaigns over the years. Murphy Gorman filed to run for the Illinois Appellate Court in 2008 but withdrew before the primary election. She attempted to get a local Democratic Party committee’s support for another appellate court campaign in 2009, according to the Sun-Times, but election records do not show she filed for that run.

Joan Margaret O'Brien: Criminal Division, Fifth Municipal District (Bridgeview Courthouse) Former Prosecutor

Judge since: 2000 Prior to her election to the bench, O’Brien was a career prosecutor, and eventually became deputy bureau chief of the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office criminal 10 SOUTH SIDE WEEKLY

Notable: In 2005, O’Brien missed the deadline to file a declaration of intent to run for retention in the 2006 election. She then filed a lawsuit contending that the deadline set by state law was unconstitutional because it conflicted the deadline set by the state constitution. The Illinois Supreme Court found in favor of the lawsuit brought by O’Brien and two other judges, allowing them to run for retention in November 2006.

four years in prison for racketeering and extortion.

Colleen F. Sheehan: Juvenile Justice Division Former Public Defender

Judge since: 2000 Sheehan worked as an assistant Cook County public defender for four years before going into private practice. She was elected in 2000 as one of the first openly gay judges in Illinois. She also presides over the Restorative Justice Community Court in North Lawndale, which aims to bring crime victims and offenders together to resolve issues.

Bar Association ratings: This year: Judge Sheehan was rated as qualified by the CBA and as well qualified by the CCL. Past: Sheehan was found qualified by the CBA, CCL, and ISBA in 2012.

Notable: Sheehan’s North Lawndale court, which launched in 2017, was the first of its kind in the state. She designed the court program alongside community activist groups that had advocated for its creation.

Thomas David Roti: Third Municipal District (Rolling Meadows Courthouse) Judge since: 2000 Before his election to the bench, Roti worked for three years in private practice, and then worked first as assistant general counsel and then as the vice president and general counsel for the grocery store chain Dominick’s Finer Foods for more than twenty years.

Bar Association ratings: This year: CCL and CBA rated Roti qualified and the ISBA recommended him for retention.

Past: Roti was rated positively in 2012 by the CCL, CBA, and ISBA. Notable: Roti is the nephew of the late Fred Roti, a former Chicago alderman infamous for corruption and mob ties, who served

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Carl Anthony Walker: Appellate Court of Illinois, First District, Second Division Judge since: 2006 Walker was recently elevated to the appellate court. His previous assignments included seats in the Law Division and Juvenile Justice Division. Prior to becoming a judge, Walker had a varied private practice and worked as a Chicago administrative hearing officer.

Bar Association ratings: This year: The CCL and CBA rated Walker as qualified and the ISBA recommended him for retention.

Past: In 2012, Walker was rated qualified by all three major bar groups.

Notable: In June, Walker was assigned to

a vacancy on the Illinois Appellate Court.

However, he remains on the circuit court retention ballot because he was elected as a circuit court judge.

Daniel Patrick Brennan: Chancery Division Judge since: 2006 Prior to his election to the bench, Brennan was chief counsel for former Cook County Sheriff Michael Sheahan. Brennan currently serves in the mortgage foreclosure and mechanics lien section of the Chancery Division.

Bar Association ratings: This year: Both the CCL and the CBA rated Brennan as qualified, and the ISBA recommended him for retention. The CCL said Brennan “was consistently praised for his fairness and integrity and seen as a wellinformed judge who has the ability to keep an even temper even when dealing with a high-volume courtroom.”

Past: In 2012, the CBA, CCL, and ISBA rated Brennan positively.

Notable: Brennan refusal to participate in any of the major bar associations’ screening processes when he ran for judge in 2006, resulting in negative ratings. His decision was met with some public scrutiny. The Tribune wrote the refusal was “usually a sign that a candidate is going to rely on political insiders, rather than legal credentials, to get elected.” The paper later reported Brennan and others were “elected due in part to the politically influential support of former Sheriff Michael Sheahan.”

Grace G. Dickler: Domestic Relations Division, presiding judge Judge since: 1998 Prior to joining the bench, Dickler worked at legal aid, human rights, and immigration organizations. She was an administrative law judge for the Illinois Human Rights Commission and a federal immigration judge before becoming an associate judge

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in 1988. She was among the first to hear divorce and child support cases in the Second Municipal District in Skokie. She later won election as a circuit judge in 2006.

In 2012, Dickler was named co-chair of the Illinois Supreme Court Access to Justice Commission Language Access Committee.

Dickler has received several awards related to access to justice.

Bar Association ratings: This year: The CCL rated Dickler highly qualified, noting her dedication to bringing about systemic reforms in addition to her knowledge, fairness, and good temperament.

The CBA rated her qualified and the ISBA recommended her for retention.

Past: In 2012, both the CBA and ISBA rated Dickler as qualified. The CCL rated her “well qualified,” praising not only her administrative skills but also her reform efforts in running “a reportedly successful program through which lawyers volunteer to do emergency orders of protection for indigent persons.”

Notable: As presiding judge, Dickler has been involved in several significant changes to Cook County’s Domestic Relations courts, notably the consolidation last year of divorce and parentage calls so that judges in the division hear both kinds of cases rather than one or the other. The change was made to treat the children of married and unmarried parents the same way, Dickler said at the time. In 2014 she and Chief Judge Timothy C. Evans instituted a new rule allowing all aspects of a domestic relations case to be mediated. She also began hearing cases involving incarcerated partners or parents using video calls, so prisoners could get divorces or negotiate time with their children.

Ellen L. Flannigan: Domestic Relations Division Judge since: 2006 Before her election as a judge, Flannigan was an attorney for several law firms in Chicago and Tokyo, where she specialized in professional liability law, insurance law, and commercial and securities litigation. She also had a career as a registered nurse prior to becoming an attorney in 1988.

Bar Association ratings: This year: Both the CBA and the CCL rated Flannigan as qualified. The ISBA recommended her for retention. The CCL said “she is described as having good legal ability with rulings that are well reasoned and clearly stated. She is praised for her grasp of the law, for her ability to control the courtroom, and for her temperament.”

Past: During the 2012 retention races, Flannigan was rated positively by all three major bar groups. While the CCL noted that Flannigan was “performing adequately,” they also reported that some lawyers said she was not always well-prepared, and others said she could be insensitive when questioning domestic violence victims.

Notable: Flannigan has twice run unsuccessfully for a seat on the Illinois Appellate Court. Her husband, Thomas W. Flannigan, has unsuccessfully ran for seats on both the Cook County Circuit Court and the Illinois Supreme Court—three times as a Democrat, and once as a Republican.

Both Flannigans have publicly stressed they do not take donations for their judicial campaigns. Unlike other judges running for retention, Flannigan does not appear on the Committee for Retention of Judges in Cook County’s website.

said “Judge Howard is an experienced judge and is well regarded for her knowledge of the law and good temperament.”

Past: All three bar associations rated Howard positively when she ran for retention in 2012, citing her good temperament.

Notable: Howard has presided over a number of high-profile criminal cases. Last year she gave five years of probation to a woman who, at age nineteen, had hidden her pregnancy and then dropped her newborn baby out of a window. The woman had pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter. She also presided over the case of a tanning salon owner accused of several rapes, blocking certain prosecution evidence against him but later finding him guilty of criminal sexual assault and sentencing him to thirteen years. The severity of sentences imposed by Howard ranks her in the middle among the twentyfour Criminal Division judges who have handed down 1,000 or more sentences in the past six years, according to Injustice Watch’s analysis of sentencing data.

Jill C. Marisie: Third Municipal District (Rolling Meadows Courthouse) Former Prosecutor

Carol M. Howard: Criminal Division Former Public Defender

Judge since: 2006 Howard began her legal career practicing with a limited law license to represent indigent litigants in Washington state. She later taught business law at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater and was also a session attorney for the Washington State Senate Judiciary Committee. She worked as a Cook County assistant public defender for nearly two decades before being elected judge. She presided over traffic and small claims cases before being transferred to the Criminal Division.

Bar Association ratings: This year: Both the CCL and the CBA rated Howard as qualified. The ISBA recommended her for retention. The CBA

Judge since: 2006 Marisie was a Cook County assistant state’s attorney from 1991 to 1994. She also worked in private practice before being elected judge in 2006. She previously heard traffic cases and now hears both civil and criminal matters in the Rolling Meadows Courthouse.

Bar Association ratings: This year: The CCL and CBA rated her qualified and the ISBA recommended her for retention.

Past: In 2012, Marisie was found qualified by all three groups.

James Michael McGing: Law Division Judge since: 2006

McGing is assigned to the tax section; he hears cases related to eminent domain, challenges to various taxes, employment issues, and discrimination matters. Before becoming a judge, McGing worked as a partner at a private firm handling workers’ compensation and personal injury matters.

He also served in various high-level positions in the Cook County Sheriff ’s Department, as well as legal counsel and campaign manager to former Sheriff Michael Sheahan.

Bar Association ratings: This year: The CBA rated McGing as qualified, and the CCL rated him as well qualified, noting that “he is respectful to all who appear before him, and he is reported to issue thorough, thoughtful, and accurate decisions.” The CCL added “he has worked for systemic improvements in the court system.” The ISBA recommended McGing for retention.

Past: In 2012, McGing received positive evaluations from CCL, CBA, and ISBA. Notable: McGing was implicated, though never charged, in a campaign finance scandal when he was campaign manager for Sheriff Michael Sheahan. The Chicago Tribune reported in December 2003 that McGing appeared to have instructed employees to skirt rules by using the names of relatives to make donations to the campaign. The paper later reported McGing and others were “elected due in part to the politically influential support of former Sheriff Michael Sheahan.”

Michael McHale: Criminal Division Past Controversy Notable Reversals Former Prosecutor

Judge since: 2006 McHale worked for years as a Cook County assistant state’s attorney, where his assignments included the cold case homicide unit and working as a supervisor of the preliminary hearings unit. He was inducted in 2005 to the Chicago LGBT Hall of Fame for his “political activism, neighborhood organizing, and professional achievement” as an openly gay assistant state’s attorney.

McHale currently presides over felony cases.

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Bar Association ratings: This year: The CBA and CCL rated him as qualified, and the ISBA recommended him for retention.

Past: McHale was rated positively by CCL, CBA, and ISBA in 2012.

Notable: Injustice Watch reviewed McHale’s record and found several controversies during his time as a criminal court judge. He was accused of engaging in unethical conversations with prosecutors during a murder trial last year. He also dismissed several jurors in a chaotic gang conspiracy trial amid allegations of racial bias in the jury room; defense attorneys contend he was wrong not to allow them to question the dismissed jurors. In 2016 the Illinois Appellate Court called McHale’s sentence of twelve years in prison for a defendant convicted of burglarizing a school—for having stolen forty-four dollars in loose change from a vending machine at a college—“anomalous and absurd.” The Injustice Watch analysis of criminal court judges sentencing data found McHale ranks in the middle in sentencing severity among the twenty-four judges assigned to the Criminal Division who have presided over 1,000 or more cases in the past six years.

James Patrick Murphy: Domestic Violence and Elder Law and Miscellaneous Remedies Divisions Former Prosecutor

Judge since: 2006 Murphy was a Cook County assistant state’s attorney for eleven years before being elected to the bench in 2006. Murphy was initially assigned to traffic court before being transferred to the Domestic Violence Division.

Bar Association ratings: This year: The CCL rated him well qualified.

They noted his good courtroom management and his respectful nature. The CBA rated him qualified and the ISBA recommended him for retention.

Past: In 2012, Murphy was rated positively by the three major bar groups.

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Notable: Murphy is married to attorney Jennifer Burke, making him the son-inlaw of prominent 14th Ward Alderman Ed Burke and Illinois Supreme Court Justice Anne Burke.

Thomas W. Murphy: Fifth Municipal District (Bridgeview Courthouse) Judge since: 2006 Murphy began his legal career in private practice, specializing in personal injury, real estate, and workers’ compensation law.

He then served four terms as alderman in Chicago’s 18th Ward, from 1991 to 2006.

Murphy currently serves as the supervising judge of Bridgeview’s civil case courtrooms.

Bar Association ratings: This year: The CCL and CBA rated him qualified, and the ISBA recommended him for retention.

Past: The CCL, CBA, ISBA all rated Murphy “qualified” in 2012.

Notable: In 2001, as alderman, Murphy attempted to become the first white member of the City Council’s Black Caucus, citing his majority-Black constituency. Daley defended his bid, saying “everybody should be able to represent anyone and speak on their behalf.” Murphy was unsuccessful, stating that “The only reason I was given [for the lack of caucus support] was that I’m not an African-American elected official.”

Ramon Ocasio III: Fourth Municipal District (Maywood Courthouse) Former Public Defender

Judge since: 2006 Ocasio began his legal career as a public defender for four years before working in a consumer fraud office of the Illinois Attorney General for eight years. He then returned to the Cook County Public Defender’s Office as a supervisor. As a judge, Ocasio has previously set bail at the criminal courthouse, and presided over

¬ OCTOBER 24, 2018

misdemeanors, preliminary hearings, and felonies in Maywood, where he has also presided over the Drug Treatment Court.

He is president of the Illinois Latino Judges Association.

Bar Association ratings: This year: The CCL and CBA rated him qualified and the ISBA recommended him for retention.

Past: In 2012, Judge Ocasio was found qualified by the CBA, the CCL, and the ISBA.

jury trials. She started her legal career working in legal aid in Florida and moved to Chicago to work in private practice, with a specialty in contested divorce and child custody cases.

Right before being elected to the bench, she was the head assistant attorney for the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago.

Bar Association ratings: This year: The CCL rated her well qualified, the CBA rated her qualified and the ISBA recommended her for retention.

Past: Shelley was found qualified by the CBA, CCL, and ISBA in 2012.

Mary Colleen Roberts: Domestic Relations Division, Fourth Municipal District (Maywood Courthouse)

Celia Louise Gamrath: Chancery Division

Judge since: 2006 Prior to taking the bench, Roberts served as a Cook County assistant state’s attorney and as assistant corporation counsel in the City of Chicago Law Department. Before that, she was a social worker. She has previously presided over criminal, municipal, and juvenile cases.

Judge since: 2010 Prior to becoming a judge in 2010, Gamrath worked in private practice and as an adjunct faculty member at John Marshall Law School. She has frequently published writings on legal topics in Chicago Lawyer Magazine and the Illinois Bar Journal.

Gamrath has previously presided over domestic relations and traffic cases.

Former Prosecutor

Bar Association ratings: This year: The CCL rated her well qualified, the CBA rated her qualified and the ISBA recommended her for retention.

Past: Roberts was found qualified by all three major bar groups in 2012.

Notable: In January 2017, Roberts was sued by a soldier after she held him in contempt of court when he did not show up at a hearing at which he was ordered to pay $10,000 to his ex-wife. The soldier claimed that he was not permitted to leave his military service to attend the hearing, as his unit was preparing at the time to be deployed. The case was eventually dismissed in April 2017.

Bar Association ratings: This year: Gamrath received qualified ratings from the CBA and the CCL, and was recommended for retention by the ISBA. The CCL said Gamrath “is well regarded for her knowledge of the law, diligence, work ethic, and fine temperament.”

Past: Gamrath received all qualified ratings, as well as a “highly qualified” rating by the CBA, in 2012.

Notable: Gamrath presided over a lawsuit against her fellow judges which challenged the constitutionality of money bail in Cook County. She dismissed the suit this year, saying she lacked the power to find bond court judges had violated the Constitution in their bail-setting practices.

Diane M. Shelley: Law Division Judge since: 2006 Shelley has previously presided over domestic violence cases, evictions, and municipal civil

Lorna Propes: Law Division Former Prosecutor

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Judge since: 2010 Prior to becoming a judge, Propes worked as a Cook County assistant state’s attorney, where she became one of the first women prosecutors in Illinois assigned to try felony cases. Propes then went into private practice where she worked on complex civil litigation, focused on persons injured by negligence, mass torts, and class action product liability. She was appointed judge in 2010 and elected to a full term in 2012.

She received the Law Bulletin Publishing Company’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 2017.

Bar Association ratings: This year: The CCL rated her well qualified, the CBA rated her qualified, and the ISBA recommended her for retention.

Past: Propes received a “well qualified” rating from the CCL in 2012 and a “highly qualified” rating from the CBA; the ISBA also rated her positively.

Tommy Brewer: Sixth Municipal District, presiding judge (Markham Courthouse) Past Controversy

Judge since: 2010 Following five years with the FBI, Brewer served as an assistant Cook County state’s attorney and as a fraud investigator for the Massachusetts Attorney General before working as a sole practitioner for 14 years.

He has served in the sixth municipal district since 2013 and became its presiding judge in 2017.

Bar Association ratings: This year: The CCL and CBA rated him qualified and the ISBA recommended him for retention.

Past: In 2012, Brewer was found qualified by the CBA and CCL. The ISBA found him not qualified because “his handling of personal financial obligations was questioned” — a reference to his significant debt to the IRS. Notable: The Sun-Times reported on Brewer’s debts in 2016, noting that the IRS was seeking $227,559 in income taxes from Brewer’s days in private practice. An Injustice Watch review of Brewer’s annual

statements of economic interests shows that Brewer reported a debt to the IRS of between $100,000 and $250,000 in 2010; his most recent form, filed on April 16 for the calendar year 2017, lists the debt at between $15,000 and $50,000.

qualified and the ISBA recommended him for retention.

Past: Allen received positive ratings from all three major bar associations when he ran for judge in 2012.

Andrea M. Schleifer: Domestic Relations Division

Erica L. Reddick: Criminal Division

Judge since: 2010 Schleifer has previously worked in the traffic court, evictions court, and parentage court.

Prior to serving as a judge, she was a private attorney for thirty-one years, concentrating on general civil litigation and family law.

Judge since: 2010 Reddick worked in the Cook County Public Defender’s Office for more than 19 years, where she served as deputy chief of the Felony Trial Division before her 2010 appointment to the bench. She was later elected to a full term in 2012. She has also taught classes at multiple local law schools.

Reddick previously served in the Child Protection Division and traffic court. She is a member of the Illinois Supreme Court’s Judicial Conference and is an advisor of the Committee on Education.

Negative Ratings

Bar Association ratings: This year: The CCL and CBA rated her as qualified. The ISBA did not recommend Schleifer, saying that some attorneys found her "outstanding" while others reported "she either does not know the current law or does not apply it properly."

Past: Schleifer was rated positively, including “well qualified” by the CCL, by major bar groups when she ran for judge in 2012.

Notable: Schleifer was involved in the amendment, implementation, and drafting of several Illinois family laws, such as the Parentage Act of 1984 and the Adoption Reform Act.

Thomas R. Allen: Chancery Division Former Public Defender

Judge since: 2010 Allen was appointed as a judge in December 2010 and elected to a full term in 2012. Prior to being a judge, he was a Cook County assistant public defender for a decade, trying homicide cases during his later years. He later worked in private practice while serving 17 years as a Chicago alderman in the 38th Ward. On the bench, Allen has presided in the Probate and Chancery Divisions.

Bar Association ratings: This year: The CCL and CBA rated him

Former Public Defender

Bar Association ratings: This year: The CCL and CBA rated Reddick as qualified, and the ISBA recommended her for retention. The CBA said Reddick “is well regarded for her fairness and possesses the requisite legal knowledge and experience to serve as a Circuit Court Judge.”

Past: In 2012, Reddick was rated positively by major bar groups, including “highly qualified” by the ISBA. The CBA noted that she is “well regarded for her work ethic and integrity.”

Notable: Reddick has been assigned to preside over two recent murder cases involving the deaths of Chicago police officers. Last year she sentenced a man convicted of being the getaway driver in the killing of an off-duty police officer to eightyfour years. In the pending case of Shomari Legghette, accused of shooting and killing a Chicago police commander in downtown Chicago, Reddick has issued a gag order prohibiting the parties from discussing the case publicly. The sentences handed down by Reddick ranks in the middle in sentencing severity among the twenty-four Criminal Division judges who have handed down more than 1,000 sentences in the past six years, according to Injustice Watch’s analysis of sentencing data.

Aicha Marie MacCarthy: Probate Division Judge since: 2012 MacCarthy currently presides over Adult Guardianship Estate cases in the Probate Division. Before becoming a judge, she focused on probate, real estate, and criminal issues as a solo practitioner. She also prosecuted municipal code violations for the City of Chicago, served as a hearing officer, handled real estate litigation for the Chicago Housing Authority, and worked for Mayor Richard M. Daley from 2001 to 2004.

Bar Association ratings: This year: The CBA and CCL rated MacCarthy as qualified, and the ISBA recommended her for retention.

Past: When she first ran in 2012, MacCarthy was rated negatively by the CCL and the CBA, both of whom cited her lack of experience. The ISBA rated MacCarthy qualified and said she is “considered to have excellent professional experience and legal knowledge and ability.”

Lionel Jean-Baptiste: Domestic Relations Division Negative Ratings Notable Reversals

Judge since: 2011 Jean-Baptiste presides over family law cases, including marriage dissolution and unmarried parental responsibilities to children. He previously presided over child support cases in the First Municipal District.

Prior to becoming a judge, Jean-Baptiste served as an alderman in Evanston. He is a founding member and past president of the Haitian American Lawyers Association of Illinois. He was appointed to the bench in 2011 and won a full circuit judge term by election in 2012.

Bar Association ratings: This year: The CCL and CBA rated him qualified. The ISBA did not recommend Jean-Baptiste, citing reports from attorneys "that he needlessly continues matters ready for a hearing, does not wish to conduct trials,

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doesn’t always follow the law, and appears to mediate cases from the bench."

Past: Jean-Baptiste was found qualified by the CBA, CCL, and ISBA in 2012.

Notable: Notable: In 2016, the Illinois Appellate Court reversed him for failing to issue a stronger protection order for an abused woman, and wrote that he issued comments from the bench that could seem "callous and insensitive" to domestic violence victims. Baptiste told the woman, that she had to “respect that [her ex-partner] loves you and he still likes you.”

Michael R. Clancy: Pretrial Division Past Controversy Former Prosecutor

Judge since: 2011 Clancy worked as a Cook County assistant state’s attorney for twelve years and then as a criminal defense attorney for nine years before becoming a judge. He was appointed to the bench in March 2011 and elected in 2012. He currently serves in the Pretrial Division, hearing felony and misdemeanor bond court cases.

Bar Association ratings: This year: The CCL rated Clancy qualified, but cited his history this past year of ordering and imposing money bond more often and in substantially higher amounts than other Central Bond Court judges. The CBA rated him qualified and the ISBA recommended him for retention.

Past: In 2012, the CBA, CCL, and ISBA all rated Clancy as “qualified.”

Notable: In September 2017, Chief Judge Timothy C. Evans created a new division of judges to handle bond court proceedings, in which Clancy was included, and ordered judges to consider defendants’ financial circumstances when setting bail. Injustice Watch’s observation throughout the first month found that Clancy issued cash bonds higher than the defendant could pay twentyfive percent of the time, compared to less than two percent for other judges. A report issued September 2018 by the Chicago Community Bond Fund found that Clancy 14 SOUTH SIDE WEEKLY

still sets unaffordable bonds at a higher rate than any other judge, in apparent conflict with Evans’s order.

for judge in 1994, 1996, 2010, and 2012. The first was only five years after she got her law degree.

Regina Ann Scannicchio: Domestic Relations Division

Pamela M. Leeming: Fourth Municipal District (Maywood Courthouse)

Judge since: 2012 Before becoming a judge, Scannicchio worked in private practice family law, and was often appointed as a child representative for contested custody proceedings. She was elected in 2012 with no opposition. She currently oversees cases involving child custody and support, marriage dissolution, and orders of protection.

Bar Association ratings: This year: The CCL and CBA rated her qualified and the ISBA recommended her for retention.

Past: Scannicchio was found qualified by the CBA, CCL, and ISBA in 2012.

Former Public Defender

Judge since: 2009 Leeming served as an assistant Cook County public defender for 19 years before being appointed judge in 2009. In 2010, she was defeated when she attempted to get elected to the bench, but the Supreme Court re-appointed her. She won election to the bench in 2012. Leeming is the first Pakistani American circuit court judge in Cook County.

Bar Association ratings: This year: The CCL and CBA rated her qualified and the ISBA recommended her for retention.

Past: Leeming was rated qualified by the CBA, CCL, and ISBA in 2012.

Diann Karen Marsalek: First Municipal District (Daley Center) Judge since: 2011 Marsalek was appointed to the bench in 2011 and went on to win a full term in 2012.

Prior to her judgeship, Marsalek served as a deputy clerk of the Cook County Circuit Court, chief legal counsel for the Illinois Department of Corrections, an assistant state attorney general, and a hearing officer for the Illinois Secretary of State. She is supervising judge of the First Municipal District’s traffic court.

Bar Association ratings: This year: Marsalek was rated qualified by the CCL and CBA and was recommended for retention by the ISBA. Past: In 2012, she was rated “not qualified”

by CCL due to concerns that most of her litigation experience was earlier in her career and in federal—not state—court. She received positive reviews from the CBA and ISBA. Notable: Marsalek previously ran four times

¬ OCTOBER 24, 2018

Notable: Her husband, Timothy Leeming, is a longtime Cook County public defender.

He ran for judge in the March 2018 primary but was defeated.

Larry G. Axelrood: Law Division Former Prosecutor

Judge since: 2005 Axelrood previously worked as an assistant Cook County state’s attorney and later as a criminal defense attorney. He became an associate judge in 2005 and was elected to a circuit judge term in 2012. He currently hears civil jury trials in the Law Division and previously heard traffic matters at the Daley Center and criminal matters in various county courthouses. He has also presided over two specialty courts: the Veterans Court and the Mental Health Court.

Bar Association ratings: This year: The CCL rated him well qualified, the CBA rated him qualified, and the ISBA recommended him for retention.

Past: In 2012, Axelrood was rated “highly qualified” or “well qualified” ratings from all three major bar groups. The CBA noted that he “possesses an outstanding demeanor and temperament and is highly regarded for his knowledge of the law and ability.”

Notable: In 2012, Axelrood received the highest bar association ratings out of all candidates in his race for judge in the 9th judicial subcircuit. Axelrood once faced controversy as a lawyer when a client who witnessed a double murder alleged Axelrood told him to go along with what the prosecutor wanted. That allegation was found not credible after a post-conviction hearing.

Carl B. Boyd: Criminal Division, Sixth Municipal District (Markham Courthouse) Past Controversy

Judge since: 2012 As a judge, Boyd has presided over a number of areas, including evictions, debt collection, and traffic matters. Since 2017, Boyd has heard felony cases at the Markham courthouse. Before becoming a judge, Boyd worked in private practice, focusing on criminal defense, bankruptcy, real estate transactions, personal injury, and probate.

Boyd won the Illinois Judicial Council President’s Award in 2016 and 2017.

Bar Association ratings: This year: The CBA and CCL rated Boyd as qualified and the ISBA recommended him for retention. The CBA said Boyd “is well regarded for his diligence, work ethic, and excellent demeanor.”

Past: In 2012, the CCL, CBA, and ISBA rated Boyd “not qualified” for the bench.

The CCL cited his limited trial work in its reasoning for this rating.

Notable: When he ran in 2012, Boyd was arrested for allegedly stealing his opponent's signs. His opponent ended up deciding not to press charges after Boyd won the election.

ELECTIONS

Daniel R. Degnan: Probate Division Judge since: 2012 Before becoming a judge Degnan worked in private practice, as chief deputy Cook County treasurer, and as executive director of the Cook County Employees’ Pension Fund. On the bench, he has previously served in the Domestic Relations Division and in traffic court.

Bar Association ratings: This year: The CCL and CBA rated him qualified and the ISBA recommended him for retention.

Past: In 2012, Degnan did not submit any qualifications and was not recommended by any major bar associations.

Notable: Degnan is the son of Tim Degnan, former Mayor Richard M. Daley’s top strategist. Degnan ran unopposed in 2012 after all four of his opponents, including a sitting judge, left the race. A Tribune column accused him of leveraging his father’s political clout to pave the way to the bench, and later an editorial was published lambasting his unopposed run as an example of Democratic Party machine politics.

John H. Ehrlich: Law Division Judge since: 2012 Ehrlich began his career with six years in private practice before joining the City of Chicago Law Department. Ehrlich has previously presided over traffic cases and chancery cases.

Bar Association ratings: This year: The CCL and CBA rated him qualified and the ISBA recommended him for retention.

Past: In 2012, Ehrlich was given positive ratings by the bar associations.

Terry Gallagher: Fifth Municipal District (Bridgeview Courthouse) Judge since: 2012

Prior to his election to the bench, Gallagher served in the U.S. Navy Judge Advocate General’s Corps for five years and was honorably discharged in 1992. He then went on to establish his own firm where he specialized in criminal defense and personal injury. Gallagher heard traffic cases in Chicago before being transferred to hear municipal cases in Bridgeview.

Bar Association ratings: This year: The CCL and CBA rated him qualified and the ISBA recommended him for retention.

Past: In 2012, the CCL, CBA, and ISBA all found Gallagher qualified.

Hayes began her legal career as an attorney at the Illinois Guardianship and Advocacy Commission before spending most of her career as a hearing officer and court coordinator in the Cook County Circuit Court’s Child Protection Division. She also worked as an assistant public defender before being elected as a judge. She previously served on the bench in traffic court and in the Sixth Municipal District.

Bar Association ratings: This year: The CCL and CBA rated her qualified and the ISBA recommended her for retention.

Past: All three major bar associations rated Hayes not qualified for the bench when she ran for judge in 2012. They cited her lack of experience with complex cases.

Kimberly D. Lewis: Child Protection Division of the Juvenile Court Former Prosecutor

Judge since: 2012 Before she was a judge, Lewis worked as an assistant state’s attorney in Cook County.

She also worked as a private practice attorney, dealing with cases including environmental and consumer fraud.

Bar Association ratings: This year: The CCL and CBA rated her qualified and the ISBA recommended her for retention.

Past: Lewis was given negative ratings by the CBA, CCL, and ISBA in 2012, for declining to appear for the evaluation process.

William G. Gamboney: Criminal Division Former Prosecutor

Judge since: 2012 Prior to joining the bench, Gamboney spent fifteen years as a Cook County assistant state’s attorney and eighteen years as a sole practitioner, where he focused on criminal law and personal injury. As a judge, he has previously served in traffic court and the Juvenile Justice Division.

Bar Association ratings: This year: The CCL and CBA rated him qualified and the ISBA recommended him for retention.

Past: In 2012, Gamboney was rated positively by all three major bar associations.

Notable: Gamboney served as one of disgraced former Chicago Police Commander Jon Burge’s defense attorneys in his federal perjury trial. As a judge, he ruled in favor of a police torture victim, Jaime Hauad, who had been convicted of murder, and ordered him released earlier this year.

Elizabeth Mary Hayes: Fifth Municipal District (Bridgeview Courthouse) Former Public Defender Judge since: 2012

Martin C. Kelley: Third Municipal District (Rolling Meadows Courthouse)

Edward M. Maloney: First Municipal District (Branch 44 Courthouse)

Judge since: 2012 Kelley worked for his family’s firm for twenty years prior to becoming a judge. He ran unsuccessfully in 2006 and was elected in 2012 after running unopposed. In 2015, he received a “Champion of Mediation” award from the Center for Conflict Resolution. He currently hears non-jury civil matters; previously, he has heard traffic and misdemeanor cases and has presided in mental health, veterans, and parentage cases.

Judge since: 2012 Maloney is known for his expertise in DUI law; he litigated many cases involving DUI arrests, served on related task forces, and helped to craft legislation on the issue.

Maloney presides over probable cause hearings in felony cases. Before becoming a judge, Maloney worked in private practice for more than thirty-three years, primarily on criminal defense and administrative review cases. He spent more than two decades of that time also working as general counsel for the Chicago Police Sergeants’ Association Union.

Bar Association ratings: This year: The CCL and CBA rated him qualified and the ISBA recommended him for retention.

Past: In 2012 Kelley was found not qualified by the CCL, which was concerned his practice lacked depth and that he had little “experience in complex litigation matters.”

Kelley was, however, found qualified by the ISBA that year. He did not submit himself for evaluation by the CBA and so was found “not recommended.”

Bar Association ratings: This year: Both the CCL and CBA rated Maloney as qualified, and the ISBA recommended him for retention. The CCL said Maloney “is considered to be exceptionally knowledgeable about his area of the law, and has good legal ability. He has a good temperament.”

Past: Maloney received positive ratings from the CCL, CBA, and ISBA in 2012.

Notable: Prior to becoming a judge, Maloney was connected to controversy while serving as president of the board of trustees of the Lyons Township School

OCTOBER 24, 2018 ¬ SOUTH SIDE WEEKLY 15

ELECTIONS

Treasurer’s Office from 2005 to 2012. He resigned from the elected post during his run for judge as the organization’s treasurer was found to have improperly paid himself, and eventually embezzled roughly $1.5 million over two decades, the Better Government Association reported. Maloney maintained that he and the two other trustees knew nothing about the theft of the school funds; the trustees were criticized for not exerting more oversight.

Lisa Ann Marino: Chancery Division, First Municipal District (Daley Center) Former Prosecutor Negative Ratings

Judge since: 2012 Marino was a prosecutor with the Cook County State's Attorney's Office for eight years, then spent the rest of her legal career in private practice in her own firm before being elected to the bench in 2012. Marino previously heard cases in the Juvenile Justice Division and in traffic court, and now is assigned to hear both mortgage foreclosure and building code violation cases.

Bar Association ratings: This year: The CCL found her qualified. The CBA rated her “not recommended,” saying there are “significant concerns about Judge Marino’s work ethic, punctuality, diligence, and knowledge of the law.” The ISBA recommended her for retention.

Past: She was rated as qualified by the CCL, CBA, and ISBA when she ran in 2012.

Michael Tully Mullen: Chancery Division

Performance in 1988 and 1990.

Bar Association ratings: This year: The CCL and CBA rated him qualified and the ISBA recommended him for retention.

Past: In 2012, Mullen received the “highly qualified” designation from the CBA, “highly recommended” from the ISBA and “well qualified” from the CCL. Notable: In 2017, Mullen dismissed a case brought by former Illinois governor Pat Quinn calling for the Chicago Board of Education to be transformed into an elected body rather than a body appointed by the mayor. Mullen ruled that mayoral control of the board does not violate the voting rights of Chicago residents.

Karen Lynn O'Malley: Probate Division Former Prosecutor

16 SOUTH SIDE WEEKLY

Santiago negatively, citing her lack of experience.

Bar Association ratings: This year: The CCL and CBA rated him qualified and the ISBA recommended him for retention.

Notable: In 2016 Santiago received a formal sanction from the Illinois Courts Commission, which found she had violated the judicial canons by offering conflicting statements about where she lived. The commission censure is a rare act—Santiago is the only current Cook County Circuit judge to have been publicly disciplined by the courts commission in at least the last twenty years. The basis for her discipline: Santiago stated when she first ran for the 6th judicial subcircuit seat that she lived in her parents’ home, not in the house she owned. But as she sought a mortgage on her home, Santiago listed that she lived in the home she owned, which qualified her for a lower mortgage. ¬

Past: Pavlus was rated “qualified” by the CCL, CBA, and ISBA in 2012.

Cynthia Ramirez: Juvenile Justice Division Former Public Defender

Judge since: 2012 Ramirez began her legal career as an assistant Cook County public defender. She then left for private practice for a year, then served as an administrative law judge with the Illinois Department of Human Services and with the Illinois Department of Public Health.

As a judge, she has previously presided over traffic cases and domestic violence cases.

Judge since: 2012 O’Malley hears cases related to the wills and estates of the deceased. She was previously assigned to preside over traffic, criminal, and civil matters in the Daley Center. Prior to her judicial career, O’Malley worked as an assistant state’s attorney for more than sixteen years. O’Malley has also worked in private practice and has taught at Chicagoarea law schools.

Bar Association ratings: This year: The CBA and the CCL rated Ramirez as qualified, and the ISBA recommended her for retention.

Bar Association ratings: This year: The CCL and the CBA rated O’Malley as qualified, and the ISBA recommended her for retention.

Beatriz Santiago: Third Municipal District (Rolling Meadows Courthouse)

Past: O’Malley received positive ratings in 2012 when she ran for judge. The CBA, CCL, and ISBA all found her qualified.

Former Prosecutor

Judge since: 2012 Prior to his appointment to the bench, Mullen worked as an assistant Illinois attorney general for three years, and an assistant U.S. attorney for six years, before spending twenty years as a private attorney in personal injury law. He received the Department of Justice’s Special Achievement Award for Sustained Superior

Pavlus served as an assistant state’s attorney for nineteen years.

Paul S. Pavlus: Second Municipal District (Skokie Courthouse) Former Prosecutor

Judge since: 2012 Pavlus previously served in traffic court at the Daley Center. Prior to taking the bench,

¬ OCTOBER 24, 2018

Past: In 2012, Ramirez received positive evaluations from the CCL, CBA, and ISBA.

Past Controversy Former Public Defender

Judge since: 2012 Prior to being elected to the bench, Santiago spent thirteen years at the Cook County Public Defender’s Office.

Santiago previously heard traffic cases and misdemeanor cases.

Bar Association ratings: This year: The CBA and the CCL rated Santiago as qualified, and the ISBA recommended her for retention.

Past: Santiago was rated positively by the CCL and ISBA in 2012. The CBA rated

Injustice Watch is a nonpartisan, not-for-profit journalism organization that conducts in-depth research to expose institutional failures that obstruct justice and equality. Reporting and research by Abigail Bazin, Abigail Blachman, Mari Cohen, Camille Darko, Olivia Exstrum, Rachel Frazin, Karli Goldenberg, Jacob Toner Gosselin, Kobi Guillory, Ashley Hackett, Emily Hoerner, Sumayyah Jones, Jake Kleinbaum, Rachel Kim, Jeanne Kuang, David North, Ivan Ost, Claire Ren, Alecia Richards, Caroline Riordan, Olivia Stovicek, Elena Sucharetza, Adam Thorp, and Duohao Xu. Statistical analysis of sentencing data by Jacob Toner Gosselin. Abigail Bazin, Mari Cohen, Rachel Kim, David North, Olivia Stovicek, and Adam Thorp are also either current or past Weekly editors or contributors.

Illustrations by Tyler Nickell

“The judicial portion of the ballet has historically seen diminished participation even from those residents who show up to vote.”

COMICS

SEAN MAC

OCTOBER 24, 2018 ¬ SOUTH SIDE WEEKLY 17

POLICE

Cognitive Dissidence

SEBASTIÁN HIDALGO

Chicago’s abolitionists make space for conversation after the Van Dyke trial

BY CHRISTIAN BELANGER

T

he evening after the Van Dyke verdict came down, Trina ReynoldsTyler took to Instagram to ask her followers a simple question: “What is justice for Laquan McDonald?” An organizer and abolitionist, Reynolds-Tyler has been involved with activism around the McDonald shooting since before it caught the public’s attention.

That night, through her Instagram 18 SOUTH SIDE WEEKLY

story, she was able to serve as moderator of a conversation between her followers, posting people’s responses to one another without revealing their identities. “People were saying stuff like, ‘He should be raped, he should be in a cell, [McDonald’s] family should be able to torture him.’.... It [was] an anonymous debate. [So] people are not afraid of saying something and that thing being connected to them,” she said.

¬ OCTOBER 24, 2018

“Somebody said, ‘Lock up your everybody that was involved,’ and I was like, ‘Lock up your alderman, the mayor, all of the police? What do you think the world will look like if you incarcerate all those people?’

Somebody else responded, ‘That sound like a revolution!’ ” “But the truth is,” she went on. “If we incarcerated them, someone would fill their shoes.”

I

t’s been just over four years since McDonald was shot, and, this November, three years since the city released video of the murder. It’s about two-and-a-half years since then–Cook County State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez was voted out of office, her re-election campaign doomed in the face of fierce, implacable opposition from groups like BYP100 that claimed she had been involved in covering up the shooting.

POLICE

And now, it’s been almost three weeks since Jason Van Dyke was found guilty of second-degree murder. It’s tempting to see, in this slow-moving timeline, the deliberate and gradual workings of a system that functions as it should. Elected officials, including Mayor Rahm Emanuel, lose elections or voluntarily leave office. The city pays millions in compensation to Laquan McDonald’s family. Jason Van Dyke is brought to justice and sent to prison, locked up for however long a judge deems appropriate.

But for abolitionists like ReynoldsTyler — many of them connected to organizations that led the effort to bring wider public attention to the McDonald shooting — things are more complicated.

Abolition is a complex concept; it means not just the sudden disappearance of prisons and police, but, in the words of Advancement Project lawyer and abolitionist Derecka Purnell, that “society decrease and eliminate its reliance on policing.” In Chicago, Assata’s Daughters and BYP100, as well as a number of arts-oriented collectives, have pushed this idea forward in recent years, often through the creation of separate infrastructure to solve problems that would traditionally be dealt with by police or courts.

These organizers think the conviction of Jason Van Dyke is promising, insofar as it shows a willingness by the local justice system to hold police accountable for violence against Black people. But they don’t believe the punishment of a single person solves the fundamental injustice: the existence of the prison-industrial complex, and the structural inequities that support it.

“No police officer in my lifetime has been sufficiently charged or convicted for such an act [until now]. That’s a point of reflection, that’s a result or product of movement,” said Damon Williams, a cofounder of the #LetUsBreathe Collective, a group of abolitionist artists and organizers.

“Where it gets frustrating is the push to celebrate, or the individualization [of the case], because there is no justice. Justice means to make right. There is no making it right.”

So what does it mean to have an abolitionist perspective on the Van Dyke conviction? First, abolitionists urge people to change the way they think about the McDonald case, shifting their focus from Van Dyke to the victim’s family. As Williams put it: “In addition to the articles and energy going to only punish this one person, what resources could be had to directly benefit his

family?”

That’s complicated, because McDonald’s family has supported the effort to prosecute Van Dyke; a relative said that McDonald’s mother reacted with “relief ” and “tears of joy” to the verdict. Plenty of Black people have expressed satisfaction or joy at the guilty verdict. Abolitionists don’t necessarily share these judgments — the ones I spoke with all noted how complicated their thoughts and feelings on the verdict were — but they still want to leave space for other Black people to respond this way.

“It’s really important to emphasize that the best thing that can come out of this process is that Laquan McDonald’s family can receive some level of peace,” said Charlene Carruthers, the founding national director of BYP100. “Abolitionists are not saying, ‘You are wrong’ — particularly [to] Black folks.”

This is an important point to understand: organizers repeatedly told me that the aim of abolition is to enact comprehensive systemic change, not dole out moral judgment in individual, fraught cases. By way of example, Carruthers pointed to the activist campaign against the city’s plan to build a police academy in West Garfield Park. “We shouldn’t be spending $95 million for another training academy,” she said. “[That] should be spent on real things that create community safety, housing, quality mental healthcare.”

“We have to talk about the fact that every policy maker in Chicago [closed] schools and allowed mental health clinics [to shut down],” said Ruby Pinto, a member of For the People’s Artist Collective, another abolitionist group of artists and organizers.

“Laquan was there because the city failed him relentlessly while he was born.”

Given these failings Pinto said that the response from many politicians after the verdict — often some variant on “justice was served” — rang hollow, particularly in light of the activism that’s been going on for years, with little input or support from the city’s elected officials. For the past three years, activists have prevented shoppers from entering stores on the Magnificent Mile during Black Friday; they’ve also staged dieins and sit-ins across the city—all to protest police brutality and demand justice for McDonald. (By contrast, city leaders often seemed more concerned about keeping

protests peaceful than making sure justice was served. In many cases, the city met protesters with aggressive police presence.)

“Over four years of rigorous direct action, there’s been so much risk taken by young people of color. A lot of them who don’t have finances to take direct risks,” said Pinto. “It enrages me to hear folks who would never have endorsed direct action who would claim that justice has been served....

It’s absurd that anyone is pretending this has been some kind of justice that has been fought for by anyone in power.”

Williams, for his part, described the verdict as burdened by the “spectacle of history”: the frenzy of media attention and political opportunism that came with the case’s high profile. The city added to that spectacle in its own way, very visibly deploying thousands of extra policemen around Chicago ahead of the verdict, with little explanation beyond vague pronouncements about “a responsibility to keep the city safe.” As some commentators pointed out, this move suggests city leaders assumed that largely Black protesters would probably react violently if Van Dyke were found innocent.

It’s this paradigm— taking Black criminality as preordained and threatening violence as a legitimate response to Black protest — that abolition aims to overthrow.

T

his past week, the Civilian Office of Police Accountability (COPA) released a video of off-duty police officer Khalil Muhammad shooting and wounding Ricky Hayes, a mentally disabled Black teenager, in Morgan Park. (Hayes ultimately recovered.) The shooting took place in August of 2017, and was referred to the office of the Cook County State’s Attorney by IPRA, then the agency in charge of investigating allegations of police misconduct (it was replaced by COPA in 2017). Kim Foxx, the state’s attorney who campaigned as a reformer on a (now-broken) promise to appoint special prosecutors for every police shooting, and defeated Anita Alvarez back in 2015, chose not to bring charges. Reporting for the Intercept, Invisible Institute executive director Jamie Kalven suggests, “There is a moment captured in the video when Hayes brings his hand close to his pocket. Given how difficult it is to successfully prosecute a police shooting case, this was, it appears, enough to deter the state’s attorney from bringing charges.”

Like the Van Dyke verdict, the shooting of Hayes shows that structural problems — in these cases, the blood-laden history that’s shared knowledge in any meeting between a Black teenager and a police officer — shape individual moments. (Kalven’s article also highlights how the Hayes shooting raises serious questions about COPA’s transparency and accountability procedures.)

For abolitionists, it’s important to bring those structural issues to the fore while remaining respectful of other people’s differing reactions to police brutality. “Now is the time to interrogate what we are seeking,” said Carruthers. “Some people do want revenge. I’d rather us have honest conversations about it than gloss over the human emotions that exist.”

It was this kind of honest conversation that Reynolds-Tyler tried to start on Instagram when she asked, “What is justice for Laquan McDonald?” After people said to her that Van Dyke should be locked away for life, or tortured, she responded with questions: “[I would ask people], ‘How does that impact other police officers doing this?

How have things changed?...What about the other officers who were on the scene? Or the supervisor, or the city council? Should we burn them, put them in a room and torture them as well?”

“Jason Van Dyke was participating within a system that justifies this shooting,” she said. “And then people realized, well, you can’t kill everybody...Sometimes it didn’t work, but sometimes it did.” Editors’ Note: Trina Reynolds-Tyler is a contributor to the Weekly and used to work in administration for the Weekly. She is also a fellow at the Invisible Institute, an editorial partner of the Weekly.

Christian Belanger is an editor at the Weekly.

He last interviewed urban archaeologist Rebecca Graff.

“Justice means make right. There is no making it right”

OCTOBER 24, 2018 ¬ SOUTH SIDE WEEKLY 19

EVENTS

BULLETIN “The Tragic Effects of Redlining” Presentation Mather’s—More Than a Café, 33 E. 83rd St. Friday, October 26, 1pm–2:30pm. Free. lindagartz.com Author Linda Gartz will discuss her book Redlined: A Memoir of Race, Change and Fractured Community in 1960s Chicago, about her family’s experience in rapidlychanging 1960s West Garfield Park. In a Weekly review published this June, Tammy Xu wrote that the book is a "compelling chronicle of both a neighborhood’s journey and a personal one.” (Sam Stecklow)

Build Your Vote: A South Side Weekly Ballot Party Build Coffee, 6100 S. Blackstone. Friday, October 26, 6–8pm. Free. RSVP. bit.ly/ BuildYourVote Voting in local elections can be overwhelming and confusing, but South Side Weekly and Build Coffee are here to help with a south side ballot party. Writers and editors from the Weekly, Injustice Watch, and IlliNoise will answer your questions, break down the more confusing races, and help you fill in your whole ballot (even the judges). Light refreshments will be served and the event is BYOB. We recommend bringing a friend and laptop if you have one. Space is limited so please pre-register. (Ellen Mayer)

Walk About It: Steelworkers Park Steelworkers Park, E. 87th St. at Lake Michigan. Saturday, October 27, 1pm–3pm.

Free. bit.ly/SteelworkersWalk Steelworkers Park is one of the most fascinating stretches of man-made landscape in Chicago; when the lakeside steel companies decided they needed more space, they created this stretch of land by dumping slag into the lake, turning the park into exactly kind of geographical feature that Deep Time Chicago wants to explore. This group of earth nerds is dedicated to understanding humankind’s geological impact through art, lectures, and walks around Chicago. If you, too, are fascinated by the Chicago landscape, join Deep Time for a guided tour of

Steelworkers Park. You’ll be joined by activist Tom Shepherd from the Southeast Side Environmental Taskforce and geographer Mark Bouman of the Field Museum. You’ll also hear from artist Stella Brown, whose installation in the park was covered by the Weekly in our October 3 issue. (Ellen Mayer)

Halloween/Día de los Muertos Storytime & Book Giveaway Open Books Pilsen, 905 W. 19th St. Saturday, October 27, 11am–noon. Free. RSVP. bit.ly/ spookystorytime. bit.ly/HalloweenDia This family event at Open Books Pilsen will include bilingual storytime of Halloween and Día De Los Muertos– themed children’s books. There will also be live music, book giveaways and arts & crafts activities. Costumes are encouraged; if you dress up you might even receive a prize.

(Ellen Mayer)

Holding It Together: Self Care for Sex Workers Build Coffee, 6100 S. Blackstone Ave. Tuesday, October 30, 6:30pm–8pm. Monthly.

Open to anyone in the sex work industry. Free.

Contact Codi for questions: (630) 995-6812. bit.ly/SWHoldingItTogether Starting this week, Build Coffee is hosting a self care workshop for sex workers on the last Tuesday of every month. Organized by and for sex workers, this event is intended for anyone in the industry, including escorts, erotic massage providers, strippers, BDSM providers, survival- and streetbased sex workers. All genders are welcome.

The entire coffee shop will be reserved for this event to ensure the privacy and safety of participants. (Ellen Mayer)

Chris E. Vargas: Introducing Museum of Trans Hirstory & Art The University of Chicago Center for the Study of Gender and Sexuality, 5733 S. University Ave. Thursday, November 1, 5pm–6:30pm. Free. bit.ly/Hirstory Vargas, the director of the San Francisco– based MOTHA, introduces “past and future plans and programs for this ‘forever under construction’ institution” at this talk on the UofC campus. Writer and filmmaker Chase Joynt will also be in conversation with Vargas. (Sam Stecklow)

VISUAL ARTS

Design Museum of Chicago, 108 N. State St., third floor. Thursday, November 1, 6pm–7pm.

Free. (312) 894-6263. bit.ly/2q6esdr

Día de los Muertos/Prosper Skateshop x La Carnalita Prosper Skateshop, 2620 S. Central Park Ave. Saturday, October 27. Vendors, noon–6pm; live music, 8pm–1am. Free. (773) 277-0950. bit.ly/2NX88OB In honor of Día de los Muertos, Prosper Skateshop is teaming up with La Carnalita to bring you a wide array of artists and vendors. You’ll be able to find anything from Brown and Proud Press zines to incense from Copalli Incense. After you browse, stay and celebrate the Day of the Dead with live music, raffles, a cash bar, and much more. (Roderick Sawyer)

Collecting Ourselves: On the Problems and Potential of Archives Maori Meeting House at the Field Museum, 1400 S. Lake Shore Dr. Saturday, October 27, 2pm–4pm. Free. RSVP in advance. bit. ly/2q3jHdI Is there a correct way to document or archive works of art from a tradition? Is it possible to remove the bias of the archivist from that of the work they are archiving?

Come out to the Field Museum as Alejandro T. Acierto, Cecília Salvatore, and Analú M. Lopez explore the complexities of archives. There will be a selection of objects on view curated by Acierto, and the talk will be moderated by Jerico Domingo.

(Roderick Sawyer)

Día de los Muertos Xicágo

Bikes are more than just a few wheels and a frame; they’re vehicles that have had a profound impact on how Chicagoans travel around the city. <i>Bikes, Modernity, and Urban Landscape</i> explores how Chicago’s history and development of bikes have contributed to the national image of the bicycle and what contemporary cycling looks like in Chicago today. This event will include a panel discussion with participants from Streetsblog, CDOT, Active Transportation Alliance, and West Town Bikes. (Roderick Sawyer)

Day of the Dead & Maxwell Street 106th Birthday Celebration at the Maxwell Street Market Maxwell Street Market, 800 S. Desplaines St. Sunday, October 28, 10:30am–2pm. Free.

(312) 745-4676. bit.ly/2NZdOb3 Maxwell Street Market’s Day of the Dead celebration will be jam-packed with festivities this year. There will a mural dedication featuring work by Josue Aldana that borrows stylistic elements of Mexico’s surrealist folklore to depict migrant workers from Maxwell Street’s history.

There will be live music featuring The Luna Blues Machine, DJ Ayana Contreras, and Chinelo Dancers. Maxwell Street will also be celebrating its 106th birthday — a pretty historic feat in Chicago. This celebration will be family-friendly, so bring the whole gang by. (Roderick Sawyer)

National Museum of Mexican Art, 1852 W. 19th St. Sunday, October 28, 3pm–8pm. Free.

(312) 738-1503. diadelosmuertosxicago.com

Iconic: Black Panther Chicago exhibit opening at the Stony Island Arts Bank

For Día de los Muertos, NMMA transforms Harrison Park into a beautiful space filled with ofrendas (altars), face painting, art activities for the family, live music, and so much more. Whether you come to make art, pay respects to the ofrendas, or learn about pan de muerto — traditional Day of the Dead bread — you’ll have a great time immersing yourself in these festivities. (Roderick Sawyer)

Stony Island Arts Bank, 6760 S. Stony Island Ave. Friday, November 2, 7pm–10pm. bit. ly/2yw4FBY

Bikes, Modernity, and Urban Landscape

Following the iconic release of the film Black Panther, the SEPIA collective has announced the exhibition of “ICONIC: Black Panther” at the Stony Island Arts Bank. Curated by Rootwork Gallery founder Tracie D. Hall, this exhibition will feature a mix of up-and-coming and established artists. The same weekend the exhibit kicks off, the Black Panthers in Chicago chapter will also be initiating a year-long community outreach campaign OCTOBER 24, 2018 ¬ SOUTH SIDE WEEKLY 21

EVENTS

in honor of the 50th anniversary of the Illinois chapter, focused on food giveaways and testing for sickle cell disease. (Roderick Sawyer)

MUSIC OK Ultra, Geological, and Space Cubs Bohemian Grove. Wednesday, October 24, 8pm–11pm. $5–10. Message facebook.com/ bohemiangrovemckinley/ for address.

McKinley Park’s newest DIY venue, Bohemian Grove, will host a tour date from Buffalo, NY experimental outfit Space Cubs. They’ll be supported by two cryptic local acts: OK Ultra (“a research team that has since become radicalized;” not to be confused with MK-Ultra), and Geological (self-proclaimed “manic pixie dream girl shit.”) (Christopher Good)

Halloween Cover Show ChiTown Futbol, 2343 S. Throop St. Friday, October 26, doors 7pm, show 8pm. $5 suggested donation, benefitting Mothers Against Senseless Killing. (312) 226-1988. chitownfutbol.com If you’re looking to revisit some classics this weekend, ChiTown Futbol has you covered with this Halloween special, featuring covers of songs by Siouxsie & the Banshees, art-pop icons Devo, and Lansing, Michigan’s own Crucifucks. (Christopher Good)

Club Soda: Halloween Party Club Soda. Saturday, October 27, 8pm–2am. $5 donation. Message at bit.ly/club-sodahalloween for address.

Roll through to Pilsen’s own Club Soda to ring in the Halloween season with a night of live music, including performances from Rio Mutasim and Roy French (Mfn Yeah), a DJ set from Cid Ikarus, and a headlining performance from Sybyr of the ANTIWORLD collective. Just don’t forget your costume. (Christopher Good)

Opera and Soirée South Shore Cultural Center. 7059 S. Shore Dr. Sunday, October 28, 4pm–7pm.$35 admission; $75 for concert and soirée. (773) 667-0241. southshoreopera.org 22 SOUTH SIDE WEEKLY

With selections from the likes of Puccini, Mozart, and Offenbach, the South Shore Opera Company is slated to bring classic arias and duets to the Robeson Theatre under conductor Leslie B. Dunner. The company will be be joined by violinist Rachel Barton Pine, who will perform pieces by Black composers, including work by overlooked composer Chevalier de Saint-Georges. (Christopher Good)

STAGE & SCREEN Eclipsed Pegasus Theatre Chicago at Chicago Dramatists, 773 N. Aberdeen St. Now through November 4. $18-$30. (773) 8788864. peagasustheatrechicago.org It is the final two weeks to see this dramatic testament to the strength and power of women—those on stage and working behind the scenes. Eclipsed tells the story of the captive “wives” of a rebel army’s commanding officer, set during the Second Liberian Civil War. The play is written by Danai Gurira—playwright and actress who portrayed the warrior-general Okoye in the movie Black Panther—and directed by Pegasus executive director Ilesa Duncan.

(Nicole Bond)

Frankenstein Court Theatre, 5535 S. Ellis Ave. November 1–December 2. Wednesday–Sunday, 7:30pm; Saturday and Sunday, 2pm matinee; matinee for high school audiences 10:30am some Wednesdays. $20-$75. (773) 753-4472. courttheatre.org This adaptation of the Mary Shelley gothic novel is a world premiere by performance collective Manual Cinema. This new take on an old story combines Shelley’s own biography with shadow puppetry, multidisciplinary actors, and innovative sound and music. Wednesday, October 31 will be the final dress rehearsal, as well as a Halloween Costume Party with “horror d’oeuvres” and creepy cocktails. Tickets to this special Halloween event are $75. Call the box office for more details. (Nicole Bond)

The Sweet Spot Burlesque Show The Promontory, 5311 S. Lake Park Ave. Friday, November 2. Doors at 6:30pm.

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$20-$50. $3 mandatory coat check. 21+. promontorychicago.com Come celebrate the sexier side of life with performance poets, body art models, burlesque dancers, live music, comedy, and a dynamic host for the masquerade edition of this thirty-city “Pop Erotica” show. You are invited to wear your favorite mask, party hard, and have a sultry good time. (Nicole Bond)

Halloween 2018 Now playing at theaters everywhere, including: Studio Movie Grill Chatham, Harper Theater Hyde Park, AMC Ford City 14, ShowPlace ICON at Roosevelt. Check locations for showtimes and ticket prices.

It’s been forty years since deranged murderer Michael Myers scared the bejeezus out of unsuspecting moviegoers. and a young Jamie Lee Curtis became a fan favorite as Laurie in John Carpenter’s 1978 classic Halloween. This Halloween season we get to experience it all again in the David Gordon Green sequel, when Myers’s mental hospital transport bus hits a snafu.

Rated R for Run, Laurie Run! (Nicole Bond)

Chicago Youth Centers – Sidney Epstein Center’s Storytelling Fundraiser Reggies, 2105 S. State St. Saturday, November 10, 3pm–6pm. $20 admission price includes food. For more information, contact Clarence Hogan at (774) 762-5655.

Ever hear a story so crazy, you wonder if it's true? Join Chicago Youth Centers for a fundraiser in which you'll get the opportunity to do just that! A selection of storytellers will be telling their outrageous stories live on stage, but only one of those stories will be true! At the end of the night, audience members will vote with their dollars on who they think is telling the truth before all is revealed. (Erisa Apantaku)

Made in Vietnam Chinese American Museum of Chicago, 238 W. 23rd St. Saturday, October 27, 2–4pm. $5 suggested donation. bit.ly/MadeInVietnam In 2013, Canadian-Vietnamese filmmaker Thi Vo traveled to Vietnam to connect

with his biological father, armed with only a picture and the name and address of an old family friend. He wound up finding more than forty family members across the country. Was one of them his dad? You’ll have to attend this screening to find out.

(Christian Belanger)

Chatham Family Fall Fest Studio Movie Grill, 210 W. 87th St. Saturday, October 27, noon–8pm. $5 or $60 for limited VIP tickets. Discounted movie screening available for children. (773) 3019371. bit.ly/ChathamFallFest Chicago Women Empowerment Group and Black Chicago Eats will host a family fun event offering something for everyone.

Think food, games, music, and a children’s film screening, plus a host of local vendors as people gather to celebrate the pride and history of Chatham. Some vendor opportunities are still available; call for information. (Nicole Bond)

King of the Policy Harold Washington Cultural Center, 4701 S. King Dr. Friday, October 26, and Saturday, October 27, 7pm; Sunday, October 28, 5pm; Tuesday, October 30, 10am. $10–$60. (773) 373-1900. bit.ly/KingofthePolicy This musical depicts the 1940s postprohibition era, when many Black communities in large cities amassed wealth by “running numbers” — street jargon for illegal policy games that were the inspiration for today’s state-sanctioned lottery games. The show, written by Jimalita Tillman, is directed by Boaz McGee and stars Arthur Barnes Jr. (Nicole Bond)

The Burghers of Calais NEIU Carruthers Center for Inner City Studies, 700 E. Oakwood Blvd. Monday, November 5, 6:30pm. Free. Limited seating.

Reserve tickets at the Court Theatre box office.

(773) 753-4472. courttheatre.org This staged reading is the next installment in Court Theatre’s Spotlight Reading Series, which showcases plays written by authors of color that are often overlooked and underproduced. The Burghers of Calais, a farce written by Edgar White and directed

by Ron OJ Parson, draws parallels between the Scottsboro Boys of 1930s Alabama and a nineteenth-century sculpture by Rodin.

(Nicole Bond)

FOOD & LAND AUA’s Fall Gathering / Reunión de otoño Spaces, 159 N. Sangamon St. Wednesday, October 24, 6pm–9pm. Free. Childcare, Spanish interpretation available. RSVP at bit.ly/AUAFall As autumn draws to an end and the last tomatoes come off the vine, what better way is there to celebrate the harvest season than a potluck with Advocates for Urban Agriculture? Over dishes made from garden produce citywide, you can meet other gardeners and talk water access, opportunities in urban ag, and the technical assistance that AUA provides. (Emeline Posner)

Food Fun(d)ing Fridays, Harvest Edition B’Gabs Goodies, 1450 E. 57th St. Friday, October 26, 6pm–9pm. $20 online, $25 at the door. Tickets at bit.ly/ FoodFundingFridaysCFPAC For the Urban Stewards Action Network’s second-ever Food Funding Friday, a grassroots funding initiative for Black- and brown-led agricultural and food access projects, they’re focusing on four local cooperatives: the Catatumbo Collective, Little Village Environmental Justice Organization, Your Bountiful Harvest, and Getting Grown Collective. Hear about their work over complimentary drinks and food, vote for which you’d like to receive a $1,000 grant—and then dance it out to a DJ Rae Chardonnay set. (Emeline Posner)

Fresh Beats and Eats Farmer’s Market Inner-City Muslim Action Network, 2744 W. 63rd St. Fridays through end of October, 2pm–6pm. Free. imancentral.org Every Friday afternoon for the rest of the month, join IMAN at their Chicago Lawn farmer’s market—recently named the Best Musical Farmers Market by the Weekly— for fresh produce, affordable meals, a drum circle class, cooking demos, and arts and crafts for kids. As always, LINK purchases will be matched up to twenty-five dollars.

(Emeline Posner)

Building the Best Soils for the Healthiest Foods

The Plant, 1400 W. 46th St. Saturday, October 27, 1pm–3pm. $15; free for Back of the Yards and New City residents. Email info@plantchicago.org for the discount code.

(773) 847-5523. plantchicago.org How do you support the health of your soil? The end of the growing season is near, but Lora Lode of the Bionutrient Food Association wants to teach you the necessary steps for monitoring and improving your garden soil before the snow arrives. You are welcome to bring produce from your own garden to the workshop for testing. (Emeline Posner)

Zoning 101: A Workshop for Community Chinatown Public Library, 2100 S. Wentworth Ave. Wednesday, November 7, 5pm–7pm. Free; RSVP at tinyurl.com/ zoning101. (312) 630-9744. clccrul.org In anticipation of the release of a guidebook to land-use development, called Chicago Land Use: A Guide for Communities, the Community Law Project is putting on a free workshop about how zoning works and how residents can engage in zoning decisions that affect their neighborhood.

(Emeline Posner)

Urban Ag Ward Ambassador (Re)launch

LEO S. GUTHMAN FUND

Blackstone Bicycle Works

Spaces, 159 N. Sangamon St. Thursday, November 8, 6pm–8pm. Free. RSVP at bit. ly/UrbanAgWardAmb. (773) 850-0428. ambassadors@auachicago.org Do you think members of city council should be thinking more seriously about urban agriculture? Advocates for Urban Agriculture does too. In advance of city elections next February, they’re hosting a workshop to train neighborhood ambassadors to be a voice for urban ag interests and concerns in their local ward office. No prior political experience required—just enthusiasm for the city’s agricultural community. (Emeline Posner)

Weekly Bike Sale Every Saturday at 12pm Wide selection of refurbished bikes! (most bikes are between $120 & $250)

follow us at @blackstonebikes blackstonebikes.org

Blackstone Bicycle Works is a bustling community bike shop that each year empowers over 200 boys and girls from Chicago’s south side—teaching them mechanical skills, job skills, business literacy and how to become responsible community members. In our year-round ‘earn and learn’ youth program, participants earn bicycles and accessories for their work in the shop. In addition, our youths receive after-school tutoring, mentoring, internships and externships, college and career advising, and scholarships.

Hours Tuesday - Friday 1pm - 6pm 12pm - 5pm Saturday

773 241 5458 6100 S. Blackstone Ave. Chicago, IL 60637

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